The aim of this study is to research and write a history of byssinosis in the United States. By examining the history of byssinosis, we hope to elucidate conditions under which an occupational disease becomes recognized. The scientific controversy over byssinosis among cotton textile workers in the United States will be examined in its historical context by studying the roles of clinicians, including pulmonary specialists and occupational physicians, pathologists, respiratory physiologists, and later, epidemiologists, textile management and labor organizations, relevant government agencies and programs such as workers' compensation legislation, insurance companies, professional organizations, public interest groups as well as the interface between the health delivery system and occupational health problems. Historical materials on the textile industry and scientific research will be examined relying primarily on the materials available in New England. Since byssinosis was recognized as an occupational disease in Great Britain long before the United States, historical analysis will focus on the problems of professional communication and rival scientific approaches to the study of disease; on the interplay of economic interests and scientific research; and on political aspects of the regulatory climate affecting occupational hazard control.